Tommy Lasorda/Walter Alston Bobblehead Night

Last Saturday the Dodgers honored former Managers Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda with a dual bobblehead. Presented by Bank of America this bobblehead was given to the first 50,000 fans in attendance.


Usually, I go the bobblehead games with Mrs.Dodger Bobble, but earlier in the day I won two more tickets at a Steve Garvey appearance, so we took our two sons with us. We arrived at Dodger Stadium early, over two hours before game time, because the last time the Dodgers gave away a bobblehead on a Saturday night, I ended up getting there very late. Plus, former Dodger catcher Paul LoDuca was signing autographs in autograph alley from 4:10-5:30 and I knew there would be a lot of people trying to get his autograph.  

Boy was I right. When we got to autograph alley there was already a very long line for LoDuca. We heard he was only personalizing autographs, which was a little disappointing, but we decided to get the signature anyway.  Paul was very nice, and signed everything put down in front of him. It was a little strange to see a Dodger employee standing over his shoulder making sure he personalized every autograph. 

That's me and LoDuca

From there, we went up and got our bobbleheads. There was a surprisingly small crowd there that night. Dr. Frank Jobe, famous for performing the first Ulnar Collateral Ligament replacement surgery, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Tommy John, the man who Jobe performed the first surgery on and who the surgery is now named for. It was a touching moment which received a standing ovation.  

Like every other bobblehead recipient, Lasorda and Alston got a  nice video tribute on the Jumbotron which also got a standing ovation. The Dodgers on the other hand did not deserve a standing ovation. After taking a 6-5 lead into the 9th inning, and being only one strike away from winning, Closer Kenley Jansen had a brain fart on the mound. The Padres had runners on second and third base when Jansen began removing dirt from his cleat. The runner at third saw this and stole home. Jansen then  made a high throw to the plate allowing the next baserunner to score. The Dodgers failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, and fell to the Padres 7-6. It was a sad way to end a night that started off good.


On to the bobblehead. This is another dual mini bobblehead that looks absolutely amazing. I'm not a big fan of the size, but I can live with it because of how great the features are. Lasorda looks like Lasorda and Alston looks like Alston. Enough said. 

The next bobblehead giveaway is Kirk Gibson on Tuesday, July 31 when the Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondbacks.

My Newest Matt Kemp Autograph

While everyone in the baseball world is talking about Ryan Braun, I'm thinking about the man I consider to be the true 2011 National League MVP, Matthew Ryan Kemp.Over the last few months I've been trying to pick up as many Kemp cards as possible, especially rookie cards.

Well, A few weeks back, I was opening packs of 2011 Topps Lineage, and I pulled a Freddie Freeman autograph. I had been trying to trade it, but none of the offers were good enough. That is until I met Eric on the Facebook page The Sports Card Hangout. I offered up my Freeman auto to the group and he was interested, so I took a look at his photbucket and that's when I saw a 2006 Topps '52 reprint Matt Kemp rookie auto. It was like a piece of art and I had to have it.

Eric and I were able to work out a deal. I threw in a 2010 Topps Triple Threads Steve Carlton jersey card and he threw in a 2002 Bowman Heritage Paul LoDuca auto I needed plus an Andy Pafko IP auto to sweeten the deal.

The blogosphere is a great place to meet fellow collectors and now I have a new outlet on Facebook. Thanks to Eric for this amazing trade. If anyone is interested in making a trade with Eric, you can contact him here.